10.30am – 27th November 2022 – First Sunday of Advent Eucharist

Posted on November 27, 2022 by St Mary's

The Readings

Isaiah 2.1-5

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
all the nations shall stream to it.
Many peoples shall come and say,
‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob;
that he may teach us his ways
and that we may walk in his paths.’
For out of Zion shall go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He shall judge between the nations,
and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.

O house of Jacob,
come, let us walk
in the light of the Lord!

Matthew 24.36-44

‘But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Scripture Quotations are from: New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The Sermon
By Kath Boyd - Reader

Do you ever have the feeling that there just aren’t enough
hours in a day or days in a week to cram in everything you’re
trying to do and please all the people you’re trying to
accommodate? I’m afraid this is a pretty regular occurrence for
me, probably because I fill my life up too much. I find a lot of
“things to do” or they find me and I’m not very good at saying
no.
A very recent example of this “busyness” was participating in
an “Open Studios” event last weekend. This is something I’ve
done almost every year for the past twenty years so I’m quite
well versed in the preparations. That said I, like most of the
other artists and craftspeople where I have my studio, had a
mad scramble to get it cleaned, tidied and well presented for all
the visitors who attended. This always takes longer than we
think, not everything on the “to do” list gets done and I’m sure
we all think of things we could have done better if only we had
prepared better or sooner, we just run out of time. However, we
all opened our doors at the appointed hour and the results of
our efforts were pretty impressive in spite of the imperfections.
The thing is though, this is only possible because we have in
fact spent weeks or months or even years preparing; a studio
full of work doesn’t come out of nowhere. Our ideas and the
skills we use to bring them into being are what we work at for
long periods of time.
I think this is true of what most people do albeit in very different
ways. What we build in the course of our lives is how we
prepare to deal with whatever comes our way. The questions
we need to consider are, are we prepared in the right way? Is
what we have built good and worthwhile? It’s also good to re-

examine this from time to time because we don’t want to be
self-righteous and deluded about our situation, kidding
ourselves that we’re fine. Remember the story Jesus told of the
man in the synagogue who assumed he was superior in the
eyes of God because he had followed all the rules to the letter,
unlike the “sinner” standing next to him. Ask yourself, which
one of these do you not want to be?
When it comes to our Christian faith, we believe that one day
Jesus will return and our reading from Matthew’s Gospel
exhorts us to be ready for that time and warns us not to be
complacent. We need to take heed of this because it’s all too
easy to keep putting off what should be done. We probably
think we’ve got plenty of time, Jesus’ return is highly unlikely to
happen in our lifetime and no doubt we’ll eventually get round
to doing all the things we should do, won’t we? There’s no rush!
But, maybe we should think again. The passages either side of
our reading, such as the story of the ten bridesmaids, only half
of whom bring enough oil to keep their lamps burning long
enough for the delayed arrival of the bridegroom, and the one
about the bad slave who didn’t maintain good and just
standards toward his fellow slaves in his master’s absence are
examples of how a failure to prepare and to do the right thing
can lead to very regrettable consequences.
Personally I think the best way to be prepared is to live out in
practice what we believe to the best of our ability. And it’s not
just a matter of doing things in order to gain our own salvation
but doing them because we believe they are right. God isn’t
blind, he knows our motivations. But, sticking with what we
believe to be right can be a long and difficult path, especially
when our efforts repeatedly seem to go unnoticed. It can be
very disheartening when this happens and the temptation to
give up can be great. Why bother we may think when our work
and dedication and sacrifice seem to make no difference or
when others make it clear they see no point to it. Some even
think we’re a bit daft.

So how do we keep going and how do we actually prepare for
the return of our Lord? As I’ve just said, I think that living what
we believe is the key. By carrying God’s spirit and Jesus’
teachings within us we ensure that we are always preparing
and thus we will never be too far from the right path. Yes there
will be days when we fall short; times when we don’t live up to
our own standards let alone God’s but what matters is that we
don’t give up. Accept that we’re human and imperfect, be
forgiving and compassionate with ourselves as we would
hopefully be with others. Learn from our mistakes so that we
can do better next time and with God’s help and guidance
move on, keep going. Support and encourage each other along
the way, especially when things are hard because we want
their salvation too. The image of some people being taken and
some left behind is very painful indeed; we see it happening
now in wars and natural disasters. Those not saved may very
well be people we love.
To conclude, if we make what we sincerely believe to be right
according to our faith, our way of life, however imperfect our
attempts, surely we will always be as prepared as we can be to
welcome our Lord when he returns.
Amen.

The Prayers
Prepared by Joe

The bidding for our prayers this morning is “Maranatha”, and the response is

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

In joyful expectation of his coming to our aid, we pray to Jesus.
We pray for the Church of Christ, for Bishop Pete and Bishop Sophie,
our Archbishops Justin and Stephen, all here who lead us in worship
and prayer, and all those whose time and talents are given to St
Mary’s, St John’s and St Mark’s.
Maranatha
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

As we start the season of Advent, may we be patient and prayerful.
We pray that we can learn the ways of the Lord, and walk in His
paths, not just for this season but for all our days.
Maranatha,
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

We pray for the people of Ukraine and hope for a peaceful resolution
to that conflict. We pray for families on both sides of the conflict who
have seen their members go to war. We pray for our sister city of
Donetsk. We pray for a time when we shall indeed beat our swords
in to ploughshares, when we will know peace and not learn war.
Maranatha,
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

We pray for those in national and local government, that they may
determine compassionate policies and actions that will benefit all
people, particularly those in need this winter. We pray that those in
the media use their power and influence wisely.

As the World Cup takes place in Qatar, we pray that the human rights
of all, irrespective of race, gender or sexuality, are more respected in
all countries of the world.

We pray for our community here in Walkley, and for the city of
Sheffield, and for our neighbours and friends, for all those affected by
the increases in food and energy prices. We pray for and give thanks
for all those working with food banks and warm spaces to mitigate
the effects of the cost of living crisis.
Maranatha,
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

We pray for the aged and infirm, and those sick in mind, body or
spirit, and those who find life especially difficult at this time. We pray
that you strengthen them and bring them the healing and peace that
belong to your kingdom. In a few moments of silence, we bring to
mind those we know who need your healing presence.
Maranatha,
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

We pray for those currently close to death, and those accompanying
them on this final part of their Earthly journey. We pray for those
who have died, recently and in the past, and those who mourn.
Maranatha,
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Finally, Lord, we silently bring before you those special to us, and also
those issues and concerns that we have in our own lives.
Maranatha,
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Rejoicing in the communion of Mary, Mark, John and of all the Saints,
let us commend ourselves, and one another, and all our life, to God.
Merciful Father: accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our
Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen

20th November 2022 – Christ the King Eucharist

Posted on November 20, 2022 by St Mary's

The Readings

Jeremiah 23. 1 - 6

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord. Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the Lord.

The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

Luke 23. 33 - 43

When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [[ Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.’]] And they cast lots to divide his clothing. And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, ‘He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!’ The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine, and saying, ‘If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!’ There was also an inscription over him, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’

One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He replied, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.’

The Sermon
By Revd Canon Dr Matthew Rhodes

Jeremiah 23.1-6 and Luke 23.33-43
Like most vicars I get a lot of post from different charities. Magazines and appeals and reminders
about campaigns. One of the organisations that I hear from is the Jerusalem and Middle East Church
Association. It supports the work of the Anglican Church in the Middle East and I’m one of its
trustees. A few years ago, I received a copy of its winter magazine and on the front of it was a picture
of Michelangelo’s Pieta. It’s his sculpture of Mary cradling the body of Jesus after he had been taken
down from the cross. The sculpture is in St Peter’s basilica in Rome. It’s a very beautiful and powerful
work. But what gave the front page of the magazine its real power was that it was placed next to a
modern photograph. A picture of a father in Syria cradling the body of his young son. Weighed down
with grief. Exactly mirroring the statue of Mary and Jesus.
Today we celebrate Christ the King and it would be great to have a reading about Jesus in glory.
Sitting on a throne with the world at his feet. A reading about Jesus being all-powerful and in control.
But instead the lectionary gives us a picture of Jesus at his most vulnerable. On the cross. About to
die. It’s a bit hard for us to get our heads around. This does not fit with any ideas we have about
kings. And this is late November. The last Sunday of the church’s year.
We’re about to start getting ready for Christmas. And suddenly we are sent back in the Bible tardis to
Good Friday. And left to ponder what it means for Christ our King to be dying on a cross.
When we think of kings we tend to think in terms crowns and thrones and of strength. Of armies and
power. But Jesus’ kingship is wholly other. He is completely vulnerable. He doesn’t even have the
security of knowing that God is with him in that moment. On the cross Jesus embraces vulnerability
and in him we see all those who have lost their lives in Syria, and more recently in Ukraine and in the
many places around the world where people are suffering. He is there. His kingdom encompasses all
this. Not just power and strength but failure and disaster. Through him God was pleased to reconcile
to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.
In 2013, Colm Toibin’s book The Testament of Mary was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It’s a short,
rather bleak account of that Mary might really have thought about her son going to the cross. And
though it does not have any of the joy of the resurrection it makes some important connections
between what Mary must have gone through at the crucifixion and the suffering of our world. As she
remembers standing at the foot of the cross, Mary recounts:
He was the boy I had given birth to and he was more defenceless now than he had been then. And in
those days after he was born, when I held him and watched him, my thoughts included the thought
that I would have someone to watch over me when I was dying, to look after my body when I had
died. In those days if I had even dreamed that I would see him bloody, and the crowd around filled
with zeal that he should be bloodied more, I would have cried out as I cried out that day and the cry
would have come from a part of me that is the core of me.
Mary is in anguish because of her son’s vulnerability. But Jesus embraces this vulnerability and
invites us to be vulnerable too. He invites us into his kingdom. Not just the parts of us that we would
take to a royal garden party. Not just our Sunday best. But the whole of our lives. The broken messy
parts as well. He invites all of us into his kingdom.
A few years ago, I had a conversation with someone who has just come out of prison. Strangely, they
said, prison had been the best thing that could have happened to them. They had been trying to keep
things together. Trying to present their Sunday best to the world. But then it all fell apart and they
ended up in jail. And in prison they couldn’t pretend any more. They had to be honest with
themselves and with other people. And start again.
And they told me that chapel was a really important part of starting again. And that it was important to
quite a lot of the other inmates too. Outside prison they might have been thought a bit unusual for

going to church but inside it was an accepted thing to do and many prisoners went to services and
Bible studies. And they shared their testimonies and read the Bible and prayed for each other.
And this person I was speaking to said that the most powerful thing that happened to him while he
was in prison was that someone came from the Salvation Army to take a service. And they took a
crisp £10 pound note out of their wallet and asked how much it was worth. £10 came the reply. Then
they screwed it up in a little ball and asked again how much it was worth. £10 came the reply again.
Then they threw it on the floor and stamped on it and asked again how much it was worth. Still £10.
That’s you said the preacher. You may feel screwed up and stamped on at the moment. But in the
eyes of God you are still worth exactly the same as you ever were.
I remembered that story when I read our Gospel today. Jesus words to the criminal crucified with him
always touch me. Even when he was in agony on the cross. Even when God the Father seemed to
have abandoned him, Jesus is able to reach out to someone who is the lowest of the low in worldly
terms. To someone who believed themselves to be guilty and deserving of punishment.
This criminal sees that Jesus is innocent. He sees Jesus’ kingship even though no one else seems to
be able to. Even though Jesus is being mocked. This man asks Jesus to remember him when he
comes into his kingdom. And Jesus replies with those amazing words, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will
be with me in Paradise.’ Jesus’ kingship is one of love and welcome. It is inclusive in a way that the
world can never be. It is not dependent on rank or wealth or education but on faith. Anyone who
recognises Jesus as their Lord and king is welcome in his kingdom. Jesus’ invitation to us is the same
as it was for that criminal hanging on the cross. You too will be with me in Paradise. Amen.

The Prayers

Let us with confidence present our prayers and supplications to the throne of grace.

We pray for all those in positions of power,
that they may govern with wisdom and integrity,
serving the needs of their people.
May your kingdom come;
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for the Church, the sign of your reign,
that it may extend your welcome to people of every
race and background.
May your kingdom come;
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for Christians of every denomination,
that together we may come to understand
the royal priesthood you bestowed on us in baptism.
May your kingdom come;
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for those whose commitment to truth
brings them into conflict with earthly powers,
that they may have the courage to endure.
May your kingdom come;
Lord, hear our prayer.

We pray for this community of faith,
that attentive to your word
we may always worship in spirit and in truth.
May your kingdom come;
Lord, hear our prayer.

13th November 2022 6.30pm – Remembrance Sunday Eucharist

Posted on November 13, 2022November 12, 2022 by St Mary's

The Readings

Malachi 4. 1 - 2a

See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

Luke 20. 27 - 38

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’

Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’

The Sermon
By the Revd Dr Alan Billings.

On the walls here in St Mary’s are two sets of memorial boards commemorating those who
gave their lives in two world wars.

Those wars continue to influence the way we think about war - what we remember and
how we remember. Let me say a brief word about each.

First, what we remember. Some years ago I was sitting in an outdoor cafe on the
Champs-Elysee in Paris, sipping coffee and looking towards the Arc de Triomphe – that
great monument that the French built to commemorate the French revolutionary and
Napoleonic wars. On every side of it there are lists of all the great battles. It's a triumphal
arch celebrating victory and honour and glory in war.

Contrast that with our monument to the Great War in Whitehall.

Not a triumphal arch but a cenotaph. What we remember there are the Fallen. What we
recall is not so much victory as the cost of victory, the human price that was paid. Which is
why, whatever our individual views about the morality of war in general or any war in
particular, we can join in services today because they are not about glorifying war but
about remembering those who died. That is what we remember and it dates from the First
World War.

Then there's how we remember, and this is perhaps more controversial. How do we
remember these deaths? What meaning do we give to them?

One way is to see war, especially the Great War of 1914 exclusively through the eyes of
the war poets. They write about the awfulness of war – the trenches, the mud, the rats, the
dysentery. Men going over the top and dying like slaughtered beasts. Men gasping for
breath or made blind by poisonous gas. Men made crazy through constant bombardment.
And it is important not to forget that.

One man who expressed all this in poetry was an Anglican army chaplain, Geoffrey
Studdert Kennedy. He was nicknamed Woodbine Willie by the troops because he always
carried a packet of Woodbines, cigarettes, to give to wounded soldiers. Although he was
awarded the Military Cross for bravery, he became disillusioned and wrote this about war:

Waste of Muscle, waste of Brain,
Waste of Patience, waste of Pain,
Waste of Manhood, waste of Health,
Waste of Beauty, waste of Wealth,
Waste of Blood, waste of Tears,
Waste of Youth's most precious years,
Waste of ways the Saints have trod,
Waste of Glory, waste of God, - War!

Studdert Kennedy saw no sense in war and became a pacifist – as many did in the 1920s.
That is one way of looking at war – to see it as so many wasted lives.

But it's not the only way. And it's not the way the nation on the whole saw things as they
looked back on the Great War and set up war memorials across the country in almost
every town and village.

The hymn O valiant hearts is how most people saw matters at the end of the war. It draws
on words of Jesus, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends."

The death of men and women in conflicts is seen in the light of Christ's death on calvary –
not as a waste, not even as a tragedy, but as a sacrifice, a life freely given up for the sake
of others - a lesser calvary, though a calvary none the less. I imagine this is how people in
Ukraine think of the deaths of their soldiers now.

This way of giving meaning to deaths in conflict has a down-side, of course. It makes it
more difficult to question wars once embarked upon, because that might seem like being
disrespectful towards the dead.

At one time I used to spend part of each year teaching ethics to officers in the armed
forces at the UK's Defence Academy and in Paderborn, in Germany. If those men and
women were to commit their lives to a cause, they needed to know that it had a moral
justification.

I think Christians have come to see, after many mistaken judgements in the past, that we
must never again speak of any war as holy – as a jihad or a crusade. War remains an evil,
even if there are times in a fallen world when it is a necessary evil or the lesser of evils -
and even then only as a last resort.

But when we do find ourselves saying – as we have in the past and may do in the future –
that a particular conflict is a just war, what will sustain the partners, the children, the
families and the friends of those killed in action, is that same idea of sacrifice.

In their grief and loss, what enables the bereaved to face the future is the thought that the
lives of their loved ones were not wasted, were not in vain and were not taken away; but,
for our sake, they were lives laid down. And greater love has no one than that.

The Prayers

Let us pray for all who suffer as a result of conflict,
and ask that God may give us peace:

for the service men and women
who have died in the violence of war,
each one remembered by and known to God;
may God give peace.
God give peace.

For those who love them in death as in life,
offering the distress of our grief
and the sadness of our loss;
may God give peace.
God give peace.

For all members of the armed forces
who are in danger this day,
remembering family, friends
and all who pray for their safe return;
may God give peace.
God give peace.

For civilian women, children and men
whose lives are disfigured by war or terror,
calling to mind in penitence
the anger and hatreds of humanity;
may God give peace.
God give peace.

For peacemakers and peacekeepers,
who seek to keep this world secure and free;
may God give peace.
God give peace.

For all who bear the burden and privilege of leadership,
political, military and religious;
asking for gifts of wisdom and resolve
in the search for reconciliation and peace;
may God give peace.
God give peace.

O God of truth and justice,
we hold before you those whose memory we cherish,
and those whose names we will never know.
Help us to lift our eyes above the torment of this broken world,
and grant us the grace to pray for those who wish us harm.
As we honour the past,
may we put our faith in your future;
for you are the source of life and hope,
now and for ever.
Amen.

6th November 2022 – Third Sunday before Advent Eucharist

Posted on November 6, 2022November 5, 2022 by St Mary's

The Readings

Job 19.23-27a

‘O that my words were written down!
O that they were inscribed in a book!
O that with an iron pen and with lead
they were engraved on a rock for ever!
For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;
and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in my flesh I shall see God,
whom I shall see on my side,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!

Luke 20.27-38

The Prayers
Prepared by David.

We pray for the coming of God’s kingdom.

You sent your Son to bring good news to the poor,
sight to the blind,
freedom to captives
and salvation to your people:
anoint us with your Spirit;
rouse us to work in his name.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Send us to bring help to the poor
and freedom to the oppressed.
We pray for those struggling with the cost of living. That we may work towards a world where none need worry about the essentials of live.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Send us to tell the world
the good news of your healing love.
We pray for places where war and human destruction cause pain and misery. We pray for peace and reconciliation.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Send us to those who mourn,
to bring joy and gladness instead of grief.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Send us to proclaim that the time is here
for you to save your people.
We pray for all those without hope. Help us walk alongside those most in need of your light and live.
Lord, in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

Merciful Father,
accept these prayers
for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

St Marys Walkley

The Church on the Road: inclusive, eucharistic, a safe place to be with God

Month: November 2022

10.30am – 27th November 2022 – First Sunday of Advent Eucharist

20th November 2022 – Christ the King Eucharist

13th November 2022 6.30pm – Remembrance Sunday Eucharist

6th November 2022 – Third Sunday before Advent Eucharist